“Goooooood morning, sleepyheads! It’s time to get outta bed and get to work! Here’s a morning bop to help get you started! Cyndi Lauper’s Girls Just Wanna Have Fun blared from the alarm radio. Asher forced open his crusty eyes and checked the time. 5:00 AM stared back at him in bright red font. Asher groaned; his entire body was sore, and every one of his bruised and battered muscles screamed at him to go back to sleep. Asher wanted nothing more than to break that blasted alarm and sleep for another few precious hours, but he knew if he did, she’d make him run laps after school.
Stumbling out of bed, Asher grabbed a t-shirt and gym shorts. Quickly putting them on, he headed to the front door and laced up his shoes. He took a breath, shaking his head vigorously, trying and failing to make himself more awake. Accepting the inevitable, Asher called goodbye to his mom, who was still fast asleep. He opened the door and stepped outside to see a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Alexis jogging in place.
“Morning’ Ash.” She said with an irritating amount of energy.
“Morning,” Asher replied, his greeting turning into a yawn halfway through. “What’re we doing today?”
“Thought we’d do a quick 5k to warm up.” Replied Asher’s girlfriend with a grin, straightening her legs and falling into a perfect stretch. “Then we can ride our bikes to school and hit the gym during lunch for weight training.”
“Fun,” lied Asher, quickly going through his own stretch routine. The only thing worse than running before the sun even rose was limping back home with torn ligaments.
Through his use of wit, charm, and time travel, Asher had successfully bagged himself his first hottie, the bold and beautiful Alexis Bolt. Asher and Alexis had only been dating for about a month now, but he could already tell she had a lot of positive traits. For one, she was attractive (though that was a prerequisite to even dating her in the first place); she was also incredibly hardworking and had a wit almost as quick as her feet. Those were all traits Asher admired, but the major downside to Alexis was that she was an absolute exercise freak!
Every morning for the past month, Asher had gotten up at 5:00 AM to exercise with his girlfriend. Asher was fine with exercising, but did it have to be so early? Sleep was one of Asher’s favorite activities; he almost loved it more than he loved women. Okay, that’s not true, but such a change to his natural routine had been tough for him; he felt like he was walking in a haze most of the school day.
Alexis was the type of girl who wanted things done her way. It felt like overnight she’d hijacked Asher’s entire life, forcing him not only to exercise at the most ungodly hours and run until he puked but his diet was suddenly filled with a bunch of healthy crap. Goodbye fattening burgers, goodbye sugary sweets; it was all kale, all the time. The only instances he could eat actual tasty food was twice a month on their cheat days. That first day Asher had been able to eat a cheeseburger again, he’d almost cried tears of joy.
On one of their first morning runs, Asher, wheezing and gasping for air, asked Alexis, “Why are we doing all this running?”
And, without turning around (she was obviously faster than Asher), Alexis replied, “To be the very best.”
Curious about what she meant, Asher jumped a few years into the future and discovered that Alexis had indeed become the best. She was an Olympic athlete, having won several gold medals while representing the United States. Instead of making Asher feel inspired or proud of his girlfriend, this revelation only filled him with dread. Alexis was serious about becoming an Olympic, which meant as her boyfriend, he’d be subjected to an Olympic-level training regimen.
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Still, as horrible as it was running three miles before the sun even came out or eating dry, flavorless kale for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Asher had decided that he would stick with Alexis. Theoretically, Asher had unlimited time to do whatever he wanted, and puking his guts out after doing 100 burpees was still leagues better than floating across an empty void for all eternity. Asher was gonna ride this wave with Alexis as far as he could, marry her, and experience everything he hadn’t been able to when he was with Sarah…at least until Alexis started getting old.
Plus, Asher reminded himself, Alexis was hot, so she was worth keeping around. And it didn’t hurt that she wore a tight-fitting tracksuit every morning when they ran. Asher always ran a few feet behind her for optimal viewing.
XXX
Asher and Alexis continued to date for the next several years, all through high school and beyond. Asher would describe 75% of that time as very enjoyable. Alexis had a fun and wild energy that Sarah never had. She would crack jokes and was never hesitant to hang with the guys, often matching or exceeding their raucous humor. Alexis had an enthusiasm for life and just being present in the moment. It was infectious. When she entered a room, it was like a lightning bolt, supercharging everyone around her. Plus, she was a pretty great kisser.
The 25% Asher didn’t like was the stupid amount of exercise they did together. She said he’d get used to it, but Asher never managed to acclimate to their 5:00 AM runs. At least Asher was in good shape; heck, this was the best shape he’d ever been in, this life or the last one. Asher had already been a star quarterback and a top member of the track team, but with Alexis’ training, Asher was sure he could reach an Olympic level. Maybe I will compete someday, thought Asher, as he and Alexis cuddled together on a couch, watching the Winter Olympics. There’s nothing better to do with all my free time, and I bet there are all sorts of hotties at the Olympics.
He and Alexis ended their high school careers as star athletes and received track and field scholarships. Asher had no preference for college and decided to go wherever Alexis went because, after all, she was the entire point Asher was even here. Even though it meant that Alexis was continuing to force Asher to keep running and exercising, it could have been a lot worse, and the years together passed almost as quickly as the two of them ran.
XXX
It was a crisp autumn morning. Asher and Alexis were doing their typical morning run, but Alexis was moving just a bit faster than usual. Alexis’ life had changed for the better, when yesterday she’d received an invitation to compete in the 20XX Olympics, and it seemed like she was floating on air. Alexis had been so overjoyed that she’d even allowed a brief respite from running and let Asher sleep until 6:00 AM. It was hardly much of a break, but Asher knew better to complain.
“Next year, Ash,” she said, barely sounding winded as they ran across the sleepy college campus. “One more year, and my dreams come true.” Asher was panting loudly, seeming to struggle to keep up with Alexis’ increased pace. “You alright?” She asked, slowing down and looking back at her bedraggled boyfriend.
Asher stumbled to a stop, gripping his knees and sucking in lungfuls of air. “C’mon, you can’t be that tired already?” His girlfriend teased, “We haven’t even run five miles.”
“I’ve always been chasing after you, Lexi,” gasped Asher, wiping sweat from his forehead.
“Well, duh,” said Alexis with a smirk, “I am a future Olympian, after all.”
Asher stared up at her, a strange grin playing across his lips. “And I hope I can keep chasing after you every day for the rest of our lives.” Asher knelt down on one knee, his tiredness evaporating as he whipped out a small velvet box, opening it to reveal a dazzling wedding ring inside.
Alexis went pink. “Wha—wha—wha-?” she stammered, the normally chatty girl suddenly unable to form a coherent sentence.
Asher’s smirk broke into a grin. He’d been wracking his brain trying to think of a clever way to propose to a sporty girl like Alexis. He was proud of what he’d come up with. Maybe I’ll do this with every girl I propose to, mused Asher; it could be fun to give each proposal a theme.
“Okay, slow down,” said Alexis, finding her voice. “What’re you doing, Ash? Are you proposing to me?”
“That depends,” replied Asher with a waggle of his eyebrows, “will you say yes?”
To make a long story short, Alexis said yes, but she made him redo the proposal once she got a chance to shower and fix up her hair. And that’s how Asher became engaged for the second time in his lives.